Playing with Flames
by LoquaciousLycanthropic
Summary: Bella Avery, an old friend of the Elrics, is back and set on becoming a state alchemist. But, she thinks that she still needs training. Who will she ask? And will they get along better than they think? RoyXOC
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I only own Bella.

Chapter 1

I sighed, deeply as I stared up at the house I had once known, but now it was foreign to me. It hadn't changed much, true, but there was no doubt that its occupants had. I was almost afraid to go up to the door, knowing the temper of the young woman inside. And, from what I heard, she wasn't afraid to throw a wrench or two.

Wincing with each step I took, clutching my small bag so tight my knuckles turned white, I stepped up to the front door and knocked, hesitantly. I waited, holding my breath. There was a crash from the inside and a curse. I frowned, not quite able to make out the voice of the person inside.

Then, the door opened. My eyes widened in shock and the person in front of me raised an eyebrow.

"May I help you?" She asked. I gulped.

"Winry?" I asked, in shock. She looked confused for a moment, before it dawned on her.

"Bella?" She asked. I nodded. She stared at me for a second, before slamming the door in my face.

I blinked. That was not the reaction I had been expecting. Sure, I hadn't been expecting a warm welcome, full of hugs and apologies and food. But I had been expecting something like a fist in my face. An automail foot, maybe? Even a wrench to my head. But not a door slammed in my face, denying me entrance to their home. There was another crash from inside, then the door opened again. Winry stood in front of me, once again, tears streaming down her face. I stared, wide eyed.

Suddenly, she was hugging me and we were both crying.

"I've missed you, Bella," She cried. "You have no idea how hard it's been, not talking to another girl for all these years." I nodded in agreement.

"I'm sorry, Winry. It was hard for me, too." She sighed and pulled away from our hug. She looked at me before smirking.

"Ed would sure love what I'm seeing right now." I blushed.

"Winry. I just got back. Can we not start on the Ed jokes, yet?" She laughed and pulled me into the house. "So, you're still making automail, I see." She nodded.

"Yeah. That's really the only reason Ed ever comes back. He's always breaking his arm." I sent her and odd look and she gasped. "You don't know?"

"Know what? Winry, what happened to Ed?" She looked down and I noticed tears streaming down her face again.

"Come, sit down, Bella. There's so much you need to know."

And, for the next hour, she told me the story of the Elric brothers. She told me about how Trisha died and Ed and Al attempted to bring her back to life with alchemy. She told me about how Al came to their door in a suit of armor, carrying a bloody Ed with missing limbs. She told me how Ed had begged her to give him an automail leg and arm. She told me about how a Lieutenant Colonel had come to offer Ed a place in the military as a state alchemist and about how Ed accepted. Finally, she told me about how Ed and Al were searching day and night, restlessly, for the philosopher's stone so they could get their old bodies back.

When she finished, I sighed and leaned back in the chair, stretching.

"Well, that settles that," I yawned.

"Huh?"

I smirked before saying, "Now, here's a little story of my own." She frowned, and I knew she was paying full attention.

"After I was dragged away from here- from my house, my friends, my town- my father began getting sick. We told him to hang on, that he'd get better soon, but my father was not one to believe in such foolishness. He knew it was his time, and he knew he was dying.

"Well, he began teaching me alchemy. It was his dying wish that I would become a great alchemist, better than even he was. He wished for me to become a state alchemist and become Fuhrer. He wanted me to end everything horrible in this country and make it a better place. My father- he loved peace. He was a very peaceful man. Never began a fight, never wished to be in one.

"Anyway, he died. After everything, the medication from the doctor, healing alchemists from the west, nothing could save him. He died.

"We held a small funeral, me, mum, and my father's closest friends. After he was buried, I packed my bags and set off. I was going to fulfill my father's dying wish." I looked down at the table, feeling myself crying. I had spent so much time by myself, on the road that I hadn't talked about any of this with anyone. It was a nice change, no matter the fact that it was bringing back memories I wished I could have forgotten.

"Father was… a state alchemist, did you know that?" I asked, looking at Winry. She shook her head.

"No, I didn't."

"No matter, he wished for me to fill his place. And I plan to do just that. I had heard a name of an old friend of his numerous times. Does Roy Mustang ring a bell?"

"Actually, it does! He's the one who came to offer Ed that spot." I smiled.

"Good. Then I should have no trouble finding him." She sent me an odd look and I pointed out her window. She turned around in her seat and glared at the figured walking up to the house.

"Damn, I told them to call!" She strode out into the hallway and picked up a wrench. Flinging open the door, she threw the wrench at the two figures, which ducked it with practiced ease.

"Damn it, Winry! Do you _want _to kill me?!" The smaller figure yelled.

"I wouldn't if you came to visit more and not just because you broke your arm again!" She yelled back. The boy opened his mouth to respond, when he spotted me. He stared at me for a second before blushing bright red. I knew he recognized me.

"B-Bella!" He said, turning away. I laughed, happily, before running toward him and pulling him into a hug. He hugged me back with one arm, as the other, automail one, was busted up. I pulled away, smiling.

"My, Ed. You haven't grown much since I last saw you."

"Who did you say was small like a grain of rice and doesn't show up in your eyes?!" He yelled. I giggled.

"Aww, Ed. I didn't mean it like that," I said, smiling at him. He blushed again, before walking to Winry to talk about his arm. I turned to the large suit of armor that had accompanied Ed.

"Hello, Alphonse," I said, smiling sadly.

"You recognize me, Bella? Even in this armor?" He asked, his voice sounding shocked.

"I never would have if Winry hadn't told me what happened." I placed a hand on the metal and sighed. "I'm so sorry, Al. You and your brother, you went through so much more than you had to."

"Bella, it was our choice to do the transmutation, not anyone else's."

"Maybe not, but still… Your bodies are different. Ed's got the leg and arm and your whole body… I feel terrible."

"Why do _you_ feel terrible?" He asked.

"I feel as if I could have stopped you two idiots if I was here."

"You never would have known," He said, trying to comfort me.

I smiled. "I might not have known at first, but you know Ed. He would never be able to keep a secret from me if I asked him about it." Al laughed. It sounded metallic.

"You're quite right there. He's madly in love with you, you know," Al told me and I blushed.

"Oh, come on, Al. It's only a silly crush. It'll go away soon," I answered, looking away trying to not let him see my bright red face. "So, where'd Ed and Winry go?"

"Probably to fix Ed's automail. Stupid brother, always busting it up."

I laughed at this and inspected Al's armor. "And I assume you never bust your armor up?"

"Er…well…" I laughed again.

"Such a hypocrite, Al. You have a dent right here," I told him, pointing to a spot on his side. "And a scratch here and another dent, much bigger this time, right here." Al scratched the back of his helmet and, I knew if armor could, he would be blushing right now. He pulled away from me and coughed.

"Well, um…where have you been for these past years? You haven't been to visit or anything. We've missed you," He said, hesitating before slyly adding, "Especially Ed." I blushed again, before turning my back on him and saying, "Stop it, Al. I'm not ready for those jokes yet. And it's somewhat of a long story, so I don't feel like telling it two more times. Hence, I think I'll tell you later, when your brother is around."

Al nodded, understanding, before I went on. "By the way, I'm looking for a man by the name of Major Mustang. Winry said you knew him?" Al sent me a confused look, or, as confused as a suit of armor could get.

"Don't you mean Colonel Mustang?" I sighed, deeply.

"Well, he must have gotten promoted since the last time I'd heard of him. Actually, come to think of it, I think he was colonel at the funeral." I thought, out loud, ignoring Al.

"What funeral?" Al asked, but I was still deep in my thoughts and didn't hear him. Suddenly, there was a crash from inside the house, and then the loud voice of Edward Elric floated down to us.

"DAMN IT WINRY! THAT HURT!"

"SHUT UP! IT'S YOUR FAULT YOU BUSTED YOUR AUTOMAIL! I'M NOT THE ONE WHO TOLD YOU TO GO LOOSE A SCREW!"

"I'M NOT THE ONE WHO LOST IT! YOU FORGOT TO PUT IT IN, BITCH."

"SHUT UP AND LET ME FIX IT, SHRIMP!" And so the argument went. I looked at Al, who shrugged and sighed.

"They go through this everytime we come here."

"Oh," was the only thing I could manage to say, before turning to the house and saying, "I think we'd better go in and make sure they aren't killing each other." Al nodded and followed me. I walked through the house, trying to find where Ed and Winry were. Upon finding the room, I knocked, sticking my head through the doorway. Ed sat on the bed in his boxers, gritting his teeth against the pain of the automail. He looked up and saw me, flinching away from Winry.

"B-Bella! W-what are you doing up here?" he asked, automatically pulling on his pants. I rolled my eyes and said, "I figured I'd come up here and make sure you weren't killing each other." I narrowed my eyes before saying, "You weren't, were you?"

Winry laughed. "No, I was just installing the arm into the port, which just happens to be the most painful part." I nodded and stood against the wall.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to watch." Winry nodded and Ed looked horrified.

"Do you like seeing people in pain?" He questioned. I laughed.

"Maybe a bit. But, no. I just think automail is interesting."

He sighed, giving up. So, I watched in interest as Winry attached the automail, going slow, as to point out certain points to me and enjoy Ed's facial expressions.

When she finished, Ed stood up and tried out his new arm.

"That took forever," Ed whined.

"Shut up, alchemy freak."

"Automail geek." I rolled my eyes at their bickering and clasped my hand over Ed's mouth before he could go any farther.

"You know, you two fighting like that is really annoying," I told them. Winry laughed, putting away her tools.

"Just go down to dinner. I'm sure granny has it ready."

"Granny Pinako?" I asked, in shock. "I haven't seen her around, yet."

Ed sighed, and grabbed my hand. "Well, go say hi to her, than," He told me, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Then, he pulled me out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Still clinging to my hand, he pulled me down the stairs into the kitchen where Al was standing, talking to a small, old woman. She looked up when we entered the room, and stared at me.

"My, my. Is that- it must be," She said, talking to herself more than anyone else, walking up to me and circling Ed and I. "Bella?"

I smiled. "Hello, Granny."

She laughed, loudly. "Bless me buttons, Bella Avery is back!"

* * *

A/N: The random thing Pinako says at the end? Something my grandmom says and I couldn't think of another thing to put there, so I decided this should work. 

My first ever attempt at a RoyXOC fanfic. And, actually, the first ever RoyXOC fic I've ever seen.

So, please be nice. Any quetions, please ask. Any mistakes, please tell me so I can fix them. And if there's anyone out there who's seen a RoyXOC fanfic, I would be eternally grateful if you would tell me, or lead me to the right story, so I know I'm not the only one out there. XD

Thanks, and don't forget to review!


	2. Chapter 2

Diclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, no matter how much I wish I did.

* * *

Chapter 2

As much as I would have liked to stay, the only way I would have been able to get to central and find Colonel Mustang would have been to leave with Ed and Al. And they certainly didn't have anything holding them to Risembul. So, only a day and a half after Ed's automail was fixed, we left for the train station and bought 3 tickets for a one-way train ride to central.

Sitting in our seats, I stared out the window as Ed and Al talked about something that included the Philosopher's Stone and people named Pride and Sloth. So, of course, I wasn't ready when Ed suddenly decided to change the subject and ask me about my life after Risembul.

So, I told them the story that I had told Winry, previously.

"Your dad was a state alchemist?" Ed asked in shock. I smiled and nodded. He leaned forward in his seat and placed his elbows on his knees.

"What was his official name?"

"I believe it was the Wind Alchemist," I answered, thoughtfully. We were all quiet for a minute, until Ed asked, "So, what do you want with that Bastard Colonel, Bella?"

"Isn't he your superior, Ed?" I asked, surprised.

"So?"

"Shouldn't you show a little respect?"

He laughed at this. "Show respect for Mustang? He doesn't deserve it. And besides, he already gets enough 'respect' from all the girls he has following him around."

"Brother, Bella is right. Mr. Mustang needs a little respect from his subordinates," Al piped in.

"And he gets it from the others. But not from me." I sighed at his stubbornness, but he continued. "So, what do you want with him, Bella. You told us that he was friends with you dad, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Er…well…" I stuttered, trying to think of a good lie, but nothing coming to mind. Finally, I settled for, "Just wait until we get there, Ed. Then you'll know."

"But what about Al? Shouldn't he know, too?"

"He can also find out when we get there."

"But Bella," Al protested. "Maybe we can help you more if we know why you need to see the Colonel."

I sighed, seeing that I was not going to get out of this without telling them something. So, I said, "I seriously doubt you could help me, but I'll tell you this: my father wanted me to become a state alchemist to fill in his spot when he died."

Ed raised an eyebrow and breathed out. "Why would any parent want this for their children?"

I shrugged. "I really don't know, Ed. But I do know not to doubt my father. He was a good man and always knew what was best for me. If this was what he wanted, then so be it."

"Are you sure your father wasn't going crazy in his last moments when he proposed this?" Ed asked. I bristled.

"Edward Elric! I'm pretty sure that-"

"Brother! How could you say something like that about Bella's father? I'm sure that if he wanted Bella to go in the military, he had good reasons."

"Yeah, whatever, Al," He said, curling up in his seat. "Wake me up when we reach Central." Then, he was asleep.

I glared at his sleeping form until I felt Al's hand on my shoulder.

"Don't mind Brother," He told me. "He didn't mean what he said."

I shrugged, trying to show Al that it didn't bother me, but failing, as I was never good at hiding my emotions.

-----------

Sighing, I quickly followed Edward as he sped through the military building, knocking over anybody in the way. I glanced at Al, worriedly, but he just responded with, "They're used to it."

Of course, I wasn't really sure if I believed it as Al and I helped up, yet another, unexpecting victim of a hurried Ed.

Suddenly, Ed and Al stopped, forcing me to also stop. I wasn't quite ready for it, therefore falling off balance. Al caught me and set me upright. I sent him a grateful smile as Ed kicked the door in and walked through the- now empty- doorway in a huff. I glanced back at Al who was drawing a transmutation circle on the frame. He motioned with his armored head to follow Ed, and I did so.

Ed, ignoring everyone in the room made his way to another doorway, only stopping when a female voice called out, "Edward!"

He flinched and turned to the voice, his eyes showing surprise as he realized I had followed him. Standing up straighter, he saluted a woman, who was standing with her arms crossed in the middle of the room.

"Good day, Lieutenant," He said, briskly. She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, a loud whistle was heard.

"Who's your friend, boss? Why don't you introduce her?"

I started, before blushing brightly. Ed growled before saying, "Not a chance, Havoc."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a man with a mop of blonde hair sigh dejectedly.

"Ed," I hissed. "Don't you think it would be polite-" He cut me off with a glare, then said, "If you want to see the colonel, then don't question me."

I was slightly taken aback by his harshness, but followed him to the door anyway. Then, realizing Alphonse had disappeared, I turned back around. Ed sighed.

"Bella, he's fine. Probably off somewhere looking for a cat." I nodded and turned back, following him, once again.

This door, Ed didn't kick in, but he didn't knock, either. He pushed it open and stormed into the room. The colonel was sitting in his chair, his desk covered in paperwork, a small ashtray, and a pair of gloves with a transmutation circle sewn on.

"So, your back already, Fullmetal." The colonel deadpanned.

"Yes, I'm back, you bastard. No thanks to you." I gasped at how he addressed his higher ups. It was one thing to do it behind their backs, but to their faces…? And the great flame alchemist, no less.

However, the older alchemist only chuckled, as if this was a regular occurrence.

"No thanks to me, Fullmetal? You didn't find the stone, then? Or was it just too _big _for you to pick up?"

"Who are you calling so small they couldn't lift the philosopher's stone, even if it was the size of a pebble!?"

Roy Mustang chuckled again, before seeming to notice me. His eyes lit up immediately as he said, "And to what do I owe the pleasure of such a beautiful young women in my office today?" I blushed once again, before shaking my discomfort off and pushing a growling Ed out of my way.

"Colonel Roy Mustang, Sir?" He nodded, affirmative. I held out a hand, which he readily took and shook. "I'm Bella Avery. I believe you knew my father?"

Mustang paled considerably and pulled his hand away. "Yes, I did know your father. Such a good man and such a terrible loss." I nodded.

"Yes, a very terrible loss, but, I didn't exactly come here to tell you how terribly sad I am at my father's death, Colonel. And I assume you know I'm not here to listen to you tell me about how good of a man my father was; I already know."

"Of course, of course. So, why are you here, Miss. Avery?" Mustang asked, not quite meeting my eyes.

"Bella."

"Hmm?"

"My name is Bella, Colonel," I said.

"Oh, of course. So, why are you here?"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes; after all, it was so painfully obvious Mustang knew exactly why I was here.

"Colonel, upon inspection of my father's will, I found that he wanted me to become a state alchemist," I supplied.

He shuffled papers around on his desk. "Well, that's very interesting, Bella, but, as I'm sure you're aware, it will be very hard and strenuous. And, I have no doubt in my mind that a young girl of only 17 will be up to the task of being a state alchemist."

Both Ed and I bristled.

"What are you, Mustang? Sexiest?" Ed yelled, and, while I was trying to calm him, I sent death glares at the Colonel.

"I'll have you know, _Mustang_," I spat out his name like filth. "That I am very capable of becoming a state alchemist. I have been able to perform alchemy for quite sometime now, and only need a bit of training." I took a deep breath and forced myself to go on. "And this is the real reason I came." I quickly dug through my bag I had carried into the office with me and brought out folded pieces of paper. I could almost hear Mustang groaning at the site of more paperwork, and his 'pain'- per say- caused me a moment of pleasure.

I made quick work of unfolding the papers and slamming them down on his desk.

"Dad- my father- wished for me to be trained by a real alchemist. An alchemist who uses similar alchemy as me." With that, I dug out a pair of gloves and slammed them down on the desk alongside the papers. "He also wished the one that was teaching me would be someone who he knew well and trusted," I finished with a sneer.

I saw Ed looking at me in shock, although, whether it was because he was surprised I could have that much hate in me or because he realized who it was that was going to have to teach me, I don't know.

Mustang, deciding to play on cluelessness, coughed and then said, "So, who was it your father was thinking about?"

My glare intensified and I scoffed, "Don't tell me you don't know, Mustang. I _know _you're not that stupid."

He merely leaned forward and, smirking, hissed, "Humor me."

I stared at him for a moment, and he never broke eye contact with me. So, when I finally decided to look away, I could almost feel his smirk getting wider.

"Ed, why don't you let the colonel and I chat for a moment." I smiled at him, waiting for him to leave. He sent one last glare at Mustang before heading toward the exit. Stopping at me side, he grasped my hand and squeezed it quickly, whispering, "He a bastard, remember." I nodded. Then, he was gone.

The flame alchemist stared after him, whistling. "So, Fullmetal finally got himself a girl, is that right?" He asked, an eyebrow raised. I glared at him.

"No," I answered icily. "Ed's only a friend." Then, I settled myself down on the couch, before continuing our conversation. "Because you're so damn _stupid_, Mustang, I guess I have to spell it out for you. Father wanted you to be my teacher."

The alchemist picked up the papers I had set down on his desk only moments before and said, "What makes you think I want to be your teacher, Bella?"

Standing up, I made my way over to his desk and slammed my hands down on it, making the older alchemist flinch. "Look, Mustang. I knew the military was made up of hundreds of Goddamn idiots, but you just proved it. The only reason I'm asking you to teach me alchemy is to make sure my father's life wasn't an absolute waste. Understand? He put everything he had into teaching me alchemy and I want to finish his teachings.

"Now, I'm only asking _you_, personally, to help because I thought that you would have wanted to fulfill my father's last wish as well, as he was your _friend_, right, Mustang?" I didn't give him a chance to answer as I went on with my rant. "I also thought that maybe, just maybe, you would want to help your _friend's _daughter gain the things she wanted. Especially, since said friend's daughter is _your _goddaughter."

Mustang paled considerably, coughing slightly to get rid of his discomfort.

"I also thought that you might have wanted said goddaughter to be your subordinate after becoming a state alchemist. If only to have her extraordinary skills."

I stopped there, letting everything I had said sink in. Leaning back slightly, I attempted to look Roy Mustang in the eye, but he avoided contact. Instead, he preferred to stare at his paperwork and gently pull on his collar, letting me know he was feeling awkward.

"Er, well, I guess its time I started at least _acting_ like I was your godfather."

I smirked in reply and victory, before walking out the office door.

* * *

A/N: Nothing much to say except thanks to my one, lonely reviewer and that I hope I'll be getting more reviews for my next few chapters and this one.

Please R&R! Thanks much!

-LL


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I wish I owned it, I really do... But sadly, only Bella is mine.

* * *

Chapter 3

"Did he say yes?" Al asked, excitedly, after Ed and I walked into the dorm room that they shared. I blinked at the speed of the question and was stunned at the fact that he knew about Roy teaching me alchemy, but smiled and nodded anyway.

"How'd you get the bastard to say yes, Bella?" Ed inquired, sitting on a couch they had managed to cram into the already small room.

"I just reminded him of a few key parts of his and my relationship," I answered, simply. Ed choked on the air.

"Relationship?"

I looked at him in confusion, before realizing what he was asking.

"Oh Ed. Not that kind of relationship."

"Then what kind," He demanded to know.

"Brother, calm down."

"I'll calm down when I want to, Al," Ed snapped. I sighed at the brothers, before saying, "Ed, that's really none of your business."

"Damn it, Bella!" Ed yelled, slamming his hands down on the table. "I'm trying to protect you and you're making it damn hard!"

"Ed," I moaned, placing my head in my hands. "I don't need protecting, idiot. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"Against who? The sins?" He asked, glaring at me. Truthfully, I had no clue who the sins were, but I'd had enough of his crap.

"Edward, grow up," I suddenly snapped, retreating into the room I would now be living in and slamming the door shut behind me.

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It was a regular day in Central, Riza Hawkeye assured me as I stood in the middle of the office and dodged the flames coming from the Colonel's gloves. Every once in a while, he would hit something burnable, and I was forced to put it out with my water alchemy.

Then, of course, he would decided to do something else stupid, such as make me use wind alchemy against him. This, of course, _just so happened_ to send the papers on his desk out the window, which _just so happened_ to be open.

Hawkeye would then yell at him, telling him those were one of a kind papers and that she could not make another copy of them. He would respond with a cheery: "Well, I guess I'm done for the day, then. Goodbye, Hawkeye," and proceed to make his way toward the door, whistling happily.

Hawkeye, the ever present and ever ready, would then put her gun to his head and threaten him that if he left before she got back with the paperwork that had disappeared, he would be a dead man the next day.

I laughed at his expression as Hawkeye came back with twice as much paper as there was before it went out the window. Mustang saw it and let his head drop to the desk with a loud, 'thud'.

"She wants to kill me, I swear it." I laughed at him and he sent me a glare. "This is your fault, you know, Avery."

"My fault? How's it my fault?" I asked, suddenly outraged. "If you hadn't opened that damned window, there would have been no problem, Colonel."

He sulked, knowing I was right. There was a hesitant knock on the door and Hawkeye poked her head in.

"Sir? I'm going out to get lunch and I was wondering if it would be all right for me to bring Bella with me. That is, if she wants to," Riza added, quickly, shooting me a glance.

I looked at the older alchemist, hopefully, and he just grunted in response. I smiled and shot toward the door.

"Thanks for getting me out of there, First Lieutenant," I said, smiling.

"My pleasure," She answered with a laugh. "It's Riza here, by the way. No need to be so formal when we're both off work for the moment."

"All right."

We lapsed into comfortable silence until we reached the place where Riza bought lunch for the office.

"So… about the Colonel. Is he always like that?"

"More or less," She answered with a grimace. She took a look at the menu and then at me. "What would you like to eat?"

"I'm not sure. Whatever you're having, I guess," I answered, caught off guard. Riza nodded and ordered. I took a moment to search for money, but Riza stopped me, a soft smile on her face.

"It's fine, Bella. I got it."

"Are you sure? I can pay-"

"No. I pay for everyone in the office and that includes you."

"Why?" I asked, confused. "Can't they pay for themselves?"

She laughed. "Yes, I suppose they can. But, I lost a bet and now, I pay for their lunches." She grimaced.

"What was the bet?"

"That the Colonel would never be a teacher."

It took me a moment to process that, but when I did, I blushed. "So,

I was the reason you lost the bet?"

"You could say that." She looked down at me, then immediately said, "Not that I blame you. It's nice to have another woman around the office who won't put up with Mustang's shit."

I laughed. "He's full of shit, all right. I almost thought Ed was over exaggerating when he talked about him."

"Maybe some of the things Edward says are exaggerated, but most of it's true." She paid for the meals and grabbed the bags of food, walking out with me following close behind. "I really shouldn't be saying all these things about Roy, but you should know what he's really like."

"If you were going to say 'a morally bankrupt bastard of a colonel', you're too late."

"Well, that's not exactly what I was going to say, but it's rather close."

"Don't you like Roy?" I asked, somewhat confused. She raised an eyebrow.

"He's my superior officer and friend, Bella. Of course I like him. That doesn't change what he is and how he acts. You need to know the truth."

"So…he's nothing more than a friend?" I asked, seeing how far I could push my luck. She kept her eyes on the space in front of her.

"No," She answered, evenly.

"But, there's someone else." A slight blush covered the Lieutenant's cheeks. "Oh! So there is!"

"Bella-"

"Come on, Riza. We're friends, aren't we? Please?"

"Bella, really-"

"We're buddies, aren't we? Pals?"

"Please-"

"All right, Lieutenant," I sighed, winking. "I'll let you off this time."

She sent me a disapproving look, but I ignored it. "So, what'd I order?" I asked, looking at the bag she was carrying.

"Rice."

"What?" I gasped. "I've only had rice once before in my life."

She smiled, thinly. "Indeed. It's not a very common food around here, is it?"

"No."

Riza looked up at the sky and sighed. "I've always had a taste for it. My father came from where it was grown, so we always had some around the house."

"I wish we had food like that at home." I pouted and Riza laughed at my expression.

"Indeed. If only it was only grown here in Amestris…" She trailed off and we were silent the rest of the way to Head Quarters.

----------

"Look, Riza!" I gasped, staring out the window with wide eyes. "It's snowing!"

The female Lieutenant glanced up from her paperwork for only a second before returning to signing the documents.

"Why don't you take a break and go outside for a while, Bella?" She suggested.

"And do what?" I asked, frowning.

"Build a snowman. Throw snowballs at passing officers. Whatever."

I gasped. "Would you really allow that?"

"I won't tell if you don't."

I threw my arms around her in a quick hug, then put on my coat and raced down the hallway. However, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and I ran straight into someone else.

I rubbed my head and looked up to find a hand near my face.

"Well, that doesn't happen everyday. Want help?" I tilted my head up even more to find a familiar face grinning down at me.

"Lieutenant Havoc!" I cried out, taking his hand and pulling myself up. "It's great to see you again"

"Yeah, you too. Your name's Bella, right?"

"Yep, and you're Jean."

The man chuckled. "That's right. Where are you going in such a hurry?"

"Actually, I was going to play in the snow. Want to come?"

I didn't give him a chance to answer before I was yanking him along behind me

"Bella, how old are you?" Jean asked, jogging to keep up with my steps, all the while trying in vain to shake off my hand that was clinging to his.

"Eighteen," I replied, a wide smile on my face.

"You seem younger."

"Yeah, I get that a lot." I stopped and turned to look at him, hands on my hips. "It's only my personality, though, right?"

I saw his eyes trail down my body, then snap back up to my face, embarrassed. "Yeah, only your personality."

--------------------

WAHM.

I fell backwards with the force of the blow and wiped snow off my face.

"Hey, Lieutenant! Didn't anyone ever teach you it's not polite to hit girls?" I yelled, pouting. I heard a chuckle, and then I was being helped up.

"Maybe, what's it to you?"

"Not a thing," I answered, a grin on my face as I took a handful of snow and stuffed it down the front of his military issued shirt. He fell to the ground in shock and I took off running. Or, I would have if he hadn't suddenly grabbed my ankle and pulled me down next to him, face buried in the snow.

I looked up at him with a glare and lashed out with my leg. He yelped as I kicked him and laughed at his pain. It was his turn to glare as he nursed his bruising arm.

"What the hell are you two idiots doing down there?" A voice asked, and both of our heads shot up to see Roy leaning out his window, frowning. I laughed and winked at Havoc, picking up some snow in my gloved hand, carefully sculpting it into a perfect snowball. Then, standing up and ignoring Jean's suspicious gaze, threw the ball with practiced ease at the Colonel.

It hit it's mark and both Jean and I saw the black hair disappear momentarily before the Colonel, once again, appeared, anger evident on his face. I smirked, cheekily, up at him and waved. It wasn't until his gloved hand appeared that my eyes widened in fright and I ran for cover.

A blast of fire melted the snow that I had been standing in only moments before. I rushed to hide behind Havoc, peeking to look at the annoyed alchemist in the window.

"Don't hide behind me!" Havoc snapped, stepping out of the line of fire.

"Jean!" I whined. "Don't leave me to face him alone."  
"You're the alchemist," he hissed, dodging as Mustang snapped at him. "What was that for?" He added, shaking his fist at his superior officer. "I didn't throw the snow!" All he got for trying to get Roy off his back was a face full of snow as he was forced to dive to avoid more fire.

I laughed at the disgruntled Second Lieutenant, but the happiness was short lived. I dove away, again, rolling behind a tree.

"Colonel, what are you doing?" The voice was unmistakably Lieutenant Hawkeye's.

"I'm dealing with Avery and Lieutenant Havoc, Hawkeye," He responded, setting the tree I was hiding behind on fire. A gun went off and Havoc, Roy, and I all jumped.

"I suggest you start your paperwork, sir. There's quite a lot of it."

The pyromaniac glared out at us for a second more before sighing and closing his window.

I grinned and stuck my tongue out at the, now empty, window. "I won this time, Mustang!" I crowed, licking my finger and making a slashing movement. "That's two for Avery and zero for Mustang!"  
"Two?" Jean asked, brushing the snow off his coat.

"Yeah. The first one was the other day when I blew all his paperwork out the window."

"You count that one?" He asked, eyebrow raised.

I shrugged. "'Course."  
"Maybe you should add Hawkeye to your little bulletin board."

I laughed and dragged him back toward the building with me.  
"Bella? Perhaps you should put the tree out, first."

I stopped my trek and turned around, looking at the tree, calculatingly, before sighing. "I suppose you're right."

I danced over to the burning vegetation, every once in a while catching a snowflake on my tongue. Upon reaching the base of the tall woody plant, I clapped my hands, touched the pendant dangling around my neck, and then placed my palms on the ground.

The snow immediately melted and flew up in the sky. In my peripheral, I saw Jean look up at the sky in confusion. There was a second pause before the snow fell back to earth in the form of rain. I smiled as it pounded on the tree and the fire went out, the only remembrance of it being the smoke still rising into the sky and the charred bark and leaves.

* * *

A/N: I'm so so sorry! It's been over a year since I last updated and I know I suck. I also know this is a sucky chapter because I wrote it a while ago and I've been too lazy to fix it, so... Next chapter will be better! I promise. XD But, please review. They make me so happy and the more reviews I receive, the faster I'll update. Please review! I really don't want to let this fic go because I already have the end planned out and everything! But, if I don't get enough reviews, I'll stop writing it and it'll eventually just fade away...

-Ahem- Sorry about that. As always, reviews are much appreciated and thanks so much for all my past reviewers! If you didn't give up on me, I'll be amazed. And if you've stuck with me through the year I didn't post, I'd love it if you kept reading through the rest of the story. But, I can't know you were unless you review. ^.^ Thanks so much for reading.

--LL


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